


In the Grip of the River

by VederoStudiesStars



Category: The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Genre: Consent, F/M, M/M, Multi, Sex Pollen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:32:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VederoStudiesStars/pseuds/VederoStudiesStars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Maia is attacked with an aphrodisiac drug, his inner circle gathers to carry him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my first readers - you know who you are (but I don't). Thanks also to my wife, who knows why.

It was only a pale dust. Maia felt it touch his face and land in his open mouth, tasting bitter-sour on his tongue. He had been speaking to Csevet and Csethiro about something as they returned from a court dinner, and now he had lost the thread utterly.

"Serenity?" Csevet asked, and then he was leaning in towards Maia, closer than usual, and sniffing, and Maia wanted to hold Csevet’s shoulders and kiss him hard. _Hobgoblin fool,_ he thought firmly. _Art so overwrought by the joys of marriage that thou wish'st to share them with all._

But Csevet said one word that Maia recognized as the name of a drug. Beshelar and Cala looked at each other and then at Maia, coming to some unspoken agreement. Beshelar unsheathed his sword and began running after the source of the dust, and Cala took up a position in front of Maia, arms raised in readiness to protect him. Csethiro (a treasure, his wife; Maia remembered, as vividly as if it were that very moment, how she curled around his body at night) looked as though she would like to follow after Beshelar. Instead Csethiro examined the hallway, turning her sharp face this way and that in thought.

Csethiro led Maia into a small windowless lavatory, which Cala checked twice before allowing either of them to enter, and shut and locked the door firmly behind them. (Cala, Maia noticed, had taken up his guard position in front of the lavatory door. There was no space for him in the room.) At Csethiro's instruction, Maia rinsed his mouth three times with water from the sink. Her hand, resting lightly on his back as he bent over the basin, felt warm through his robes. Maia rubbed himself up against it, delighting in the feel of her. Csethiro laughed and turned him around, holding him in her arms. "I am afraid I cannot kiss thee," she said when he tried to pull her towards him, “because of the drug. But whatever else thou desirest, I am here."

And Maia did desire her, that very instant. He couldn't say so, so he made a sound that Csethiro must have understood. She positioned him against the wall and knelt before him, pulling apart his robes and his undergarments. Then Csethiro was taking him into her mouth. "Thou art – oh – _thank thee_ ," Maia gasped. The relief of having her there, touching him, sucking him, was very great. He came almost at once, feeling her lips and tongue around him as he spent. When she removed herself, to spit into the basin and rinse her own mouth, he felt bereft. He was still horribly hard.

"It will be well, love," Csethiro said to Maia’s discontented noise. "We" (she used the plural, not the formal, and Maia wondered why) "will take thee home, and we will give thee everything thou need'st." She rearranged his clothes so that, Maia noticed gratefully, the drapes of the robes concealed his cockstand. When they were both decent enough to be seen in public, Csethiro unlocked the door.

Cala was still standing guard, with Csevet beside him. Cala was so beautiful, behind his wrinkled robes and his spectacles, and Maia imagined what his hands might feel like on Maia’s own bare skin. _Greedy, greedy. Art not satisfied? I am sure many men's wives will not do what thine has just done for thee. To business, fool._ Maia managed some semblance of Imperial dignity and asked, "What is the situation?"

"Serenity," Cala answered, "Beshelar has captured the culprit and is taking him to Captain Orthema. He asked whether he should stay for the questioning, but Csevet said–" Cala broke off, the tips of his ears turning pink.

Csevet, who at least _appeared_ to be calm, finished, "I said that he should return quickly, for he may be needed."

"But there is nothing to blush for in that," Maia protested. It was only then that Maia recalled what the drug did. _Surely the floors must have mercy on me, and gape open to swallow me whole._


	2. Chapter 2

There was a long, awful time when Maia felt himself being half-walked, half-carried down the endless halls of the Untheileisene Court. At last the grilles of the Alcethmeret closed behind him, and then he was in his own chambers, laid flat on that enormous canopied bed, with Cala and Beshelar and Csevet and, Cstheio help him, his wife, circling around it, and he was desperately, horrifyingly lusting after them all at once.

"How do you feel, Serenity?" inquired Csevet. 

Maia decided he was not going to answer that question lying down. He pushed himself up on the feather pillows. "Like we – like _I_ ," he corrected himself, "have been... I do not know the words for this."

Csevet looked concerned, and Cala distressed. Beshelar just looked red, but he kept his eyes on Maia’s face, and Maia was grateful for that. Csethiro, his brave lady, had the fierce stare of someone who would defend Maia on the field of honor or in the ... _bed of honor_ , Maia thought, and his hips jerked involuntarily.

"Do you know the effect of the drug?" Csevet asked gently. 

Maia began to nod, but stopped. He did not really know. He had not known how it would feel, to be hot with desire from the tips of his hands to the crown of his head, to feel release only for a moment and then to lust for touch even more than he had before. 

Csevet – how lovely Csevet was, with his fair skin and milkweed-pale hair! – said, "We must be blunt, Serenity. The person who takes it must reach sexual release, not once but many times, and not with one, but with many people, within half a day of the administration, or else he will become gravely ill and perhaps, in some time, die. We saw the effects once, when we were younger." Csevet paused, biting his lip. "We offer ourself, Serenity."

"As do we," Cala said at once. Beshelar swallowed hard (Maia watched the muscles move in his white throat) but added, hoarsely, "And we."

"Whatever thou need'st," Csethiro said again, "I am thine."

Maia watched them all, his most loyal friends. "You need not – I wish nothing of you that you do not wish to give. Even for my life." 

Only then did Csevet flush red to his hair. He said softly, "I wish to, Serenity."

"It is absurd to call me Serenity now," Maia said. He felt his voice shaking with strain and need and amazement, that all of them – that _Csevet_ – would humble themselves so for him. "Maia. Please. _Please_ , Csevet."

Csevet stepped towards the bed and reached for Maia’s hands, holding both of them between his own long fingers. Maia could think of almost nothing else but the way those fingers pressed against his palms. Through the haze that was overtaking him, he heard Cala say, "Should we" (it was the plural pronoun) "not send for Kiru?"

"No!" Maia pressed the word out with some difficulty. "It would be cruel to her. She is a celibate." Csevet’s hands stopped their motion, and Csevet waited. 

"Serenity," said Beshelar, "you need her as your nohecharo, if Cala and I are not guarding you."

"But you are here–" It was really quite difficult to think. The pulse beating through his ( _use the real words, hobgoblin_ ) through his _cock_ was louder than the voices around him.

"You need Kiru to guard you from _us_ ," Beshelar said firmly, his plurals encompassing everyone in the room. 

"It would be less cruel than sending for Telimezh," Cala muttered. 

Maia felt his chest tightening. He needed, he needed now. With all the breath he could muster, he whispered, "Send for her," and then, "Csevet? Please?" Csevet let go of Maia's hands, which was bad, and then began unlacing Maia's robes, which was good, and then he was _licking Maia’s nipple_ , which was good good very good. "Good, yes, yes," Maia said. He felt Csevet's hands circling the other nipple, and that was good too, and tracing spirals down his sides. "Yes," said Maia. "Yes."

Csevet sat up, leaving his fingers on Maia's wet nipple so (Maia thought hazily) it wouldn't be lonely without Csevet’s tongue there. “May I?” Csevet asked, his hands on the strings of Maia’s undergarments. " _Yes,_ " gasped Maia, and then Csevet was pulling the garments off and Maia was wearing nothing at all. It felt so wonderful to be laid out on display. Now if only Csevet would... yes. Csevet was stripping his own clothes off, and pulling the tashin sticks out of his hair so it fell down loose against his back. Then Csevet lay down beside Maia, touching Maia from the top to the bottom, body naked on body. Maia had only ever done this with Csethiro before. It felt like satisfying a hunger Maia never knew existed, but had always felt. Maia pressed greedily into Csevet's body, feeling Csevet's cockstand rubbing against Maia’s stomach, trying to get purchase and pressure on his own cock. 

"What wishest thou?" Csevet asked breathlessly. "Maia."

Maia almost laughed. _Is this what it takes for thee to address me in familiar?_ But instead he said, "Touch me. Touch me here. And let me touch thee." Then he had a moment of fear. What an impossible liberty he was taking; it was surely unfair to Csevet. But Csevet dipped his hand into a tub of something moist (where had that come from? Oh, Kiru must have brought it. Maia had not noticed her enter.) Csevet set his long fingers against the tip of Maia's aching cock, and stroked the sides gently, smoothing it with the cream, and held Maia’s balls so gently in his other hand; and Csevet said, "Yes." By that point, Maia had almost forgotten what he had asked for. He was torn between the urgent need for release, at once, now, and the feeling that he was quite safe, and loved, and at peace in Csevet's hands, and that he did not want the moment to end. But Csevet said, "Yes," again, and Maia reached. When he felt Csevet's penis jump in his hands, Maia shuddered, and so did Csevet. Then Maia was moving hard and fast against Csevet, close to the edge. Although Maia came first, Csevet followed after. They clung to each other, hot and sticky and ... oh. Maia was still hard, overheated, and more desperate than he had been before, and Csevet's body against his was an itch rather than a relief. Maia pushed himself away. 

The tips of Csevet’s ears lowered as Csevet sat up. "Thou wilt – you will need help from another. I beg your pardon."

The expression on Csevet’s face, Maia thought with what remained of his mind, could not be allowed to stand. "No," Maia said. "No, Csevet. Do not apologize. Thou hast done me a great service. Thou art – thou art _wonderful._ "

"Serenity," Csevet said, and nodded once, standing up. Kiru Athmaza offered Csevet a dressing-gown Maia recognized as his own; she must have begged it from Maia’s edocharei. Csevet pulled the gown around himself and stood by the wall. 

Cala and Beshelar were still there, Cala's ears flushed pink and Beshelar, Maia thought, dangerously red in the face. Csethiro’s cheeks were only dusted with rose, and her eyes sparkled. Clearly, despite the threat, Csethiro liked what she saw. 

Kiru, who appeared entirely unconcerned by the whole business, said, "Serenity, do you require a cup of water? A visit to the lavatory? There is a filled bath ready, if you need it."

Maia agreed to all three. He did not want to lie with Beshelar, or Cala, or Csethiro, with Csevet's spendings and his own smeared together on his stomach. When he saw Nemer standing ready by the bathtub, Maia regretted this resolution. Nemer had not agreed to help him with the drug. Nemer was his edocharis, required to touch his Emperor daily. It would be a terrible violation to treat Nemer as ... as Tethimar had treated Csevet, and Maia would not do it. So he bit his lip against the feeling of the hot bathwater rippling over his tenderest places. His treacherous prick would stay hard – he could not fix that – but he refused to gasp when Nemer's fingers soaped his scalp, or rubbed his back, or slid against the nipples that Csevet had just licked. Maia repeated the prayer to Cstheio in his mind over and over again, and he kept control.

When Nemer and Kiru at last led him back to the bedroom, dried (being toweled off by Nemer had been a particular challenge to Maia's control) and clad in another dressing gown, Maia's body had reached a level of arousal far more painful than pleasurable. The brush of the fabric against his neck was erotic; against his buttocks, it was maddening. 

Cala, having removed his spectacles and his blue maza's robes and wearing only thin linen undergarments, stepped forth to take Maia's hands in his. Maia could not embrace Cala with the care he deserved. He could only say, "Now," and "Please," and pull Cala down to the bed with him at once. The damned dressing gown tangled up around Maia, separating his body from Cala's. Why was Maia wearing it? What modesty had he left to preserve anyway? "Please," Maia said again, and fortunately Cala understood him. Cala opened the gown so Maia was bare from his neck to his open legs, and began kissing his way down Maia’s torso. 

But even the kisses were a torment. "I'm sorry, Cala," Maia said. "I need –" and he gestured helplessly towards his swollen cock. 

"Of course," answered Cala, and bent his head to suck. Maia closed his eyes. His mind could not encompass the joy and relief; he was only aware of brief rushing sensations, hands tongue throat warmth yes yes yes, and then he was coming again, in a flash of white light behind his eyes, and then he was _Cstheio hear me_ still hard, and still desperate. 

Maia curled up a little away from Cala, and took a breath. "My thanks, Cala. What your loyalty warrants, I cannot give back." Maia could not recompense Cala for his gift; he could not even gratify Cala in return for his own release. How useless he was.

Cala ( _more constant than thou deservest, hobgoblin_ ) did not seem to mind. He only replied, as he rose from the bed, "It was my pleasure and honor, Maia."

When Kiru offered refreshment and cleansing again, Maia accepted a swallow of water but did not rise from the bed. The idea of another bath mortified him. In any case, Maia could not wait so long for his next release. He pushed himself up against the pillows of his bed.

Then Beshelar stepped forward, blushing but determined. Maia hardly knew what to think. "Are you sure?" Maia asked. He could not imagine _Beshelar_ wanting to –

Beshelar flushed deeper. "Yes, Serenity. Maia." When Beshelar took off his clothes, Maia could see that Beshelar did want him; Beshelar's thick cock was so erect as nearly to touch his stomach. "But I don't know what to do," Beshelar continued in a rush. "What do two men do together?"

Maia did not say that Csevet and Cala had managed well enough, and that Beshelar could do what they had done. It would be unkind, and Maia had not the breath for it in any case.

Csevet, still standing against the wall (although Csethiro, Maia noticed, had settled herself on the floor in a meditative posture she had learned from Maia), spoke instead. "One may pleasure the other's penis with his hands." Csevet's voice held the calm assurance it always did when he gave advice as the Emperor’s secretary. Maia's breath caught just hearing it. "One may take the other's penis in his mouth," Csevet continued. "One may penetrate the other's anus with his own penis."

Maia saw Beshelar (Maia could _not_ think of him as Deret) swallow, and his ears bend. Not meeting Maia's eyes, he said, "You could penetrate me."

Maia shook his head, or tried to. "I have not the strength. But if you wish, you could–" _Penetrate_ was the wrong verb. "Thou couldst fuck me. Or touch me however thou wouldst."

Beshelar's ears rose again. Maia had never seen that expression on Beshelar’s face before. He looked uncertain, Maia thought, and yet eager. "May I?" said Beshelar. "Are you sure?"

The thought of Beshelar, earnest, severe Beshelar, wanting so badly to enter Maia made his skin tingle and his cock jump. "Yes." Maia pushed the dressing gown off his shoulders, so he would be utterly naked when Beshelar came to him.

Beshelar climbed into Maia's bed. "Where should I begin?" he asked. When Maia did not answer, Csevet spoke again. "You must ready him. Take some of the cream and rub it around his entrance."

Obediently, Maia turned over and lay on his front, waiting. He could not see Beshelar, or anyone, from this angle, but soon he felt Beshelar’s finger drawing gentle circles against the rim of his hole. Maia pressed himself into Beshelar's finger. He wanted more.

"Now stretch him open," Csevet instructed. "Begin with one finger, slowly. Use plenty of cream, else it may hurt him." Maia felt Beshelar's caress _inside_ of him, where none had ever been: a strange feeling, but a good one. _Does Csethiro feel so, when I enter her body?_

"Add a second finger," said Csevet to Beshelar. Maia warmed to think that Csevet was watching, that Csevet was guiding Beshelar's strong fingers as they slid inside Maia’s body, as they brushed – _something_ – that made Maia’s legs jerk and his breath catch, as they pulled him open to the air. Csevet could see him now. So indeed could Csethiro, his fair lady; so could Cala, who had only just now carried Maia over the edge with his lips and his tongue. 

But Csevet was part of this moment. He was speaking again. "Now," Csevet was saying, "if you both are ready, then Beshelar should prepare his–" Even Csevet faltered here, selecting a word, but he settled on "–member. Cover it well with cream." Beshelar had to remove his hand to do this, and Maia made a noise of protest. But Csevet was still speaking. Maia held on to Csevet's voice, as a line holding him fast in the world. "Serenity... Maia, it will be easiest if Beshelar helps you to stand by the bed and bend over with your weight on your arms." Maia's legs were weak beneath him as he tried to stand, but Beshelar held him by the waist and positioned him, and that was good. And Csevet was still talking, which was better. "Beshelar, stand behind him, holding him to you, and enter him when you both like."

"Are you ready?" asked Beshelar. No amount of intimacy would let Beshelar use the familiar _thee_ to his Emperor, Maia supposed. 

"Go," Maia said. "Go now." Beyond the bed, Csevet said, "Very slowly, and not too far, at first. It will be easier as you continue." Then – that was _Beshelar's cock_ pressing him open, and it was too wide to take, and Maia held back a moan. 

"Wait, Beshelar," said Csevet, "until he is used to this." Beshelar did wait; Maia felt Beshelar warm against his back, and the tip of Beshelar's prick just inside him.

"Maia, it is yours to decide what to do now, whether to stop or go, how deep to enter, how slow or how fast, or whether to stop altogether. Tell us–" (Csevet used the plural) "–tell Beshelar what to do." 

Staying in the same position would be impossible, and Maia _wanted_ so badly, so he said, "Keep going. Slowly. Now." Indeed, once Beshelar pressed further in, Maia knew he could take it after all, and the feeling of Beshelar sliding in and out began feeling unbearably good instead of unbearable. Remembering the flash of _something_ Beshelar's fingers had drawn from him, Maia said, "Deeper. Please. And faster." That was it, that was the place, and Maia could not help himself; he cried out. Immediately, Beshelar stopped, Csevet said, "Maia?" and Kiru said, "Serenity? Are you all right?" So of course Maia had to find words to answer them all. "Yes," he gasped. "I am fine. I am well. I am – Beshelar, by all the gods, keep going!"

Beshelar did, and it was – yes – it was almost enough, and Maia could tell from the sound of Beshelar’s breath that Beshelar was close, but Maia needed – "Your hand," Maia whispered between gasps. "Please." 

It was not much of a request, but at least Csevet understood what Maia meant, and explained, "Take his member in your hand, and do whatever you would do for yourself." Then Maia felt Beshelar inside him and outside him, stroking Maia's cock firmly while pressing deep into Maia's body, and it would have been enough even if Csevet had not been saying, "Maia, you can do it, you are doing well, thou mayest, thou deservest, thou art loved—" and Maia spent _hard_ into Beshelar’s fist, and clenched tightly around his prick, with Beshelar coming inside him a moment after.

But even that was not enough and too much, all at once; Maia felt himself trembling and too hot. "Please, no more," he gasped, and Beshelar withdrew himself at once, both from Maia and from the bed, before Maia could explain that he had only wanted Beshelar to pull out. Now no one was touching Maia, and he was still bent over the bed with his knees shaking, and he thought he might fall. 

"Serenity?" said Kiru. "May we assist you?"

" _No_ ," Maia answered sharply. "No, please, I can't – I cannot trust myself. Not you." But he _was_ going to fall, he thought, if nothing was done.

"May _I_ assist you?" inquired Csethiro, and Maia answered, with all the breath he could find, "Please," and then Maia’s wonderful, beautiful wife, who had been here and watching him all the night, lifted him up and lay him on the bed. 

"Would Nemer perhaps send some damp sponges?" Csethiro asked the room generally, and then added, "Maia, would you like me to clean you? Hot or cool water?"

Maia could not express all the gratitude he felt with a nod, but he tried. "Hot but not burning. Please." Csethiro stretched, still clothed, beside his naked body, and some part of Maia that frightened him wanted to rip the clothes off at once, but he knew what she looked like, and it would not be fair before everyone.

Beyond the bed, Maia saw dimly that Cala was wiping Beshelar off with a towel, and then was helping him dress; that Csevet was trying to look unmoved, but that he had not looked away from Maia for some time; and that Kiru had brought the sponges and was delivering them to Csethiro. Maia had not thanked Beshelar, had, in fact, been extremely discourteous to him; and he did not have the strength to do better now. But there was Csethiro, taking a sponge to Maia’s forehead, his shoulders, his back, as if she were one of his edocharei and not the brilliant duellist who had married him, and he ought to appreciate her, at least.

"It is not thy duty to fix this," Maia said to Csethiro. "It is not any of your jobs," he said, using the plural rather than the formal second-person. "I do not deserve –" he broke off. _Edrehasivar Half-tongue, indeed._ "I am so grateful, and I—" he lost words entirely, as Csethiro brushed the sponge over the side of his hip. Maia was acutely aware of every place that Csethiro touched him, and of every place he had already been touched. His hole felt wide open. When, after asking Maia's permission with a glance, Csethiro took a new sponge and began cleaning him there, Maia found himself actually shivering with desire and humiliation all at once. With an even sharper burst of embarrassment, Maia realized his eyes were wet. Csethiro lay the sponge down on the end-table and came to hold him in her arms.

"Hush, now, thou art safe," Csethiro murmured. To compound his mortification, Maia could not keep from rutting into her skirts, her layers of lace and satin providing only slight relief to his desperate prick. 

But it was not right to touch her so, not in full view of all. "I owe something to thy modesty," Maia said. "Let the hangings be drawn about the bed."

Csethiro shook her head and drew him closer. "Why should I have privacy, if no others do?"

"Csethiro Zhasan!" It was, Maia realized, an outraged Beshelar who had spoken. "It is _not_ the same. You are _empress_ , and it is not seemly."

"Well," Csethiro said, and some edge in her smile worried Maia, even as he pressed against her, "perhaps the hangings should be closed. In a moment. Maia, thou need'st to be held, dost thou not?"

"I...yes," Maia answered. Really, Csethiro should scarcely need to ask, since Maia was all but burrowing into her body. 

"Wouldst like to be held _more_?" Csethiro asked, as she stroked his hair, the tips of his ears, the back of his neck.

" _Csethiro_ , please!" Maia was so aroused, he could not tell pleasure from pain. Any moment now, he might come on her skirts, and then it would be even worse again. He could not wait for her.

"Mer Aisava," Csethiro said, "would you be willing to come here and hold the Emperor? _Then_ we could draw the hangings."

Maia was sure he had not heard her correctly. 

But Csevet said, "Maia?" in exactly the same intonation he usually used to say, "Serenity?" and Maia knew it was a serious offer. And Maia could not wait longer for release; he had to decide at once. "If – if thou wantest. Please." 

So Csevet, still in Maia's dressing gown, climbed back into the imperial bed. At some point in the night he had braided his hair in one loose braid hanging over his shoulder. Maia watched in a haze of lust as Csethiro positioned Csevet on his back, propped up against some pillows. Then Maia let Csethiro move him so he was seated between Csevet's legs, lying back against Csevet's chest. The velvet of the dressing gown was warm on Maia's naked body, and Maia was still warmer when Csevet wrapped his arms around Maia's torso and held on. But no one was touching Maia's bare prick, and Maia ached for it.

Only then did Csethiro draw the hangings around the bed. Darkness enveloped them all. The faintest hints of gaslight, through small gaps between the curtains, showed Maia Csethiro's silhouette, as she slipped her underthings off and pulled her skirts up to her waist.

The relief was indescribable when Csethiro finally climbed astride Maia and drew his cock inside of her. Csethiro was, Maia noticed, wet and ready, and she did not hesitate. She moved quickly around him, the fabric of her skirts brushing against his skin as she rose and fell. Maia felt his wife's body above him as he felt Csevet below him. He heard Csethiro's eager noises and felt the press of Csevet's cockstand through the dressing gown. 

Maia tried to reach for Csethiro, to touch her pearl, but Csethiro was moving too fast and he could not find it. "No," she said. "Lie back. Let us love thee." And indeed Csevet pulled Maia back against him, rubbing Maia's chest gently all the while. Csethiro was touching herself now; Maia knew the sounds she was making, knew the way she tossed her head back as she moved, even though he could not see it. He himself was ... he was floating on pleasure, it was all pleasure now, every impossible sensation all at once. Csethiro clenched around him and cried out, and at the same instant Csevet's fingers tightened on both of Maia's nipples, and Maia _screamed_ as the orgasm tore through him from his balls to his throat.

\--

Afterwards, Maia thought that something must have happened outside of the bed at that moment. Surely Kiru would have said something when Maia screamed, and perhaps Beshelar as well, or Cala. If they did, he did not hear it.

He did, after a time, hear Csethiro's voice, gently inquiring: "Maia? Dost need space?   
She had slipped off of his cock, but was still lying half atop him; Maia was pressed between Csethiro and Csevet, and he _did not mind_. In fact… his breath was slowing, his penis softening.

"No. I am well." And then Maia realized what he had said, and said it again. "I am _well._ I..." – his voice cracked, and he had to try again before he could finish the sentence – "I thank you both. I thank you all."

Maia thought he could even fall asleep, like this, between the two of them, except that he still had one more responsibility. "Csevet," Maia said. "Thou hast not – I am too tired now to help you, but perhaps, if you and Csethiro wished it –"

Maia felt the vibrations of Csethiro’s laughter against his body. "Maia, love, Mer Aisava is not here on my behalf."

"Oh." Maia supposed that he should not be surprised. "Then, Csevet, may I hold thee while thou touchest thyself? Only if thou wishest."

"Yes," said Csevet softly. "Yes." So Maia lay beside Csevet, holding him in his arms, and Csethiro lay on Maia's other side, while Csevet stroked himself through the opened buttons of Maia's dressing gown. Maia did fall asleep before Csevet was finished, but the sound of Csevet's gasps followed him into his dreams.


	3. Epilogue

When Maia awoke, he and Csethiro were alone but for Kiru still guarding the bedroom. Beshelar and Cala had gone to bed. Csevet did not turn up again until Maia and Csethiro were eating late breakfast in lieu of supper.

Maia was sure Csevet had not slept; his haggard cheeks and lowered ears told the story of a wakeful day following a wakeful night. Kiru, of course, had not slept either, and she was at the end of a near-triple shift, if Maia was not mistaken, but she at least looked content and exhausted. Telimezh, the best rested of them all, scanned the room’s windows and doors with the eye of a man hoping for a threat he could actually defend against. 

Maia himself was ... _happy._ He kept remembering moments from last night, touches and caresses and voices, and the feeling of being surrounded by people who loved him, who wanted to protect him, who let him spend in their hands and mouths. Maia smiled at Csevet. "Please sit down," he said.

Csevet did not sit down, nor did he smile. "We should have told you that we are marnis, Serenity. Empress."

Csethiro rose from her chair and took Csevet's hand before Maia could think of an answer. "Thank you for everything, Mer Aisava. If we are needed, we will be reading in the Tortoise Room." She touched Maia's shoulder in farewell and walked out, leaving Maia and Csevet alone with the nohecharei.

Maia refused to use formal first-person, not to Csevet, in private, on this subject. "I had suspected as much for some time. I never cared before, and certainly do not now that you have done me so many great services. Without your knowledge, I would have been lost."

"We are pleased to have been of use, Serenity." Csevet did not seem pleased; he twisted his hands together and stared at the floor. At least, Maia observed, he had bathed and dressed in clean clothing, and had wound his hair up with tashin sticks.

"Serenity," Csevet continued, "we would like to investigate administrative conditions in the Empire for a few months. We have trained several undersecretaries who can very well serve in our place, and if you prefer us not to return we will not object."

Maia blinked, considered his options, and switched modes to speak as Csevet’s employer. "Sit down, Csevet, and drink a cup of tea. We are sure the Empire would benefit from your investigations, but we would much prefer you here in our household, if you are willing to stay. What are you going on about?"

Csevet sat. He looked defeated. "We require space to clear our mind, and to ready ourself to serve you appropriately."

"Surely," answered Maia, "you deserve a holiday. You work harder and longer than we do, and we have pressed you too far. Go to the springs at Daiano, or where you will, and rest for a month before you come back to us. But are you quite well, Csevet? We are concerned for you."

"We are well. It is only –" Csevet took a breath, and spoke quickly, turning aside his head from Maia. Maia remembered the way Csevet had looked at him on the previous night, and the ways he had touched him, and understood at last, even before Csevet continued, "It is only that I love my Emperor too well." Csevet pushed back his chair and stood up.

"You are free to go if you wish," Maia said, "and you may have as much time as you desire. But if that is all the problem, then thou need'st not go. Csevet." He put into Csevet’s name all the gratitude, all the affection that Maia had to give. Csevet froze. "Csevet, thy love saved me. Please let me love thee also."

Csevet stared at Maia blankly, before bursting out, "But the Empress, Serenity!"

"Csethiro may share me. Thou wert here first, before I knew Csethiro’s name. Thou didst bring her to me. And please – please do not call me Serenity. Within our household, I am Maia to thee. Csevet, come here." And, in full view of Kiru and Telimezh, Maia Drazhar opened his arms to Csevet Aisava, and Csevet Aisava kissed Maia Drazhar.


End file.
